Life from an outsider’s perspective… Life from an outsider’s perspective… The life of an expat Australian starting a new life in Spain. A former research scientist now runs a pro road bike hire business. Cycling in a place with no flat roads! The importance of Mental and Physical health in todays society... Articles
?Multiculturalism? or ?Immiscible Cultures??
2007-10-23 19:08:00 WARNING: possible controversy ahead!! Who actually invented the word “multiculturalism” anyway? I think it was our politicians who did that (at least in Australia). Sure, most cultures in a multicultural society tolerate each other, but I think the real trouble arises when immigrant cultures make little or no attempt to integrate into the host culture, leading to the ... More About: Mental Health , Cultures , Multiculturalism , Island Life , Ural
The 1991 Le Mans Mazda Team and the legendary rotary ?Renown? 787B.
2007-10-19 01:14:00 In 1991, Mazda became the first and only Japanese car manufacturer to win the prestigous 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race. Using the Wankel rotary engine, it was also the only non-piston engine car to ever win. All three Mazda 787B cars to enter the race finished the gruelling event in respectable 1st, 6th ... More About: Team , The Legend
Social Networking Theory
2007-10-17 15:08:00 Almost everyone has heard of Qantas, Pepsi and IBM. They’ve saturated the world with publicity. These are household names because everyone is familiar with the business & their products. That is to say, we all know they exist, we all knows what they sell, and most importantly we all know hot to reach them. At the extreme ... More About: Science , Business , Social , Social Networking , Networking
Driving on a busy Spanish freeway on my very first lesson didn?t exactly re
2007-10-17 14:50:00 I had my first driving lesson yesterday, in Spanish . Firstly, there is no option for learning with an automatic vehicle. That’s fair enough because this place has no flat roads and autos just don’t cut it here. Secondly, you’re not licensed to drive without an instructor until you’ve passed the practical exam. Naturally I was a ... More About: Driving , Mental Health , Freeway , Lesson
The Age of Information & ?Overchoice?
2007-10-17 14:13:00 We live in a unique time; our almost instant global communications network is enough to impress anyone; but can all the knowledge it contains be a bad thing? In our time of the internet, both the growth of information and the ability to access that information is also increasing at an exponential rate. The vast amount of ... More About: Science , Information , Mental Health
Graeme Obree, ?The Flying Scotsman?
2007-10-16 17:11:00 On 17th July 1993, the scottish cyclist Graeme Obree stunned the international cycling world when he emerged form obscurity to smash Francesco Moser’s World Hour Record, which had stood for nearly a decade. His new record, 51.596km in one hour, achieved at the Hamar velodrome in Norway, was celebrated as a triumph for the ordinary ... More About: Flying , The Fly
Book Review: ?How the Leopard Changed Its Spots: The Evolution of Complexit
2007-10-09 23:18:00 The main theme is about how DNA doesn’t need to provide information in every detail to produce an organism. Chemical, physical and mathematical forces also play a significant part in the production of an organism. The book is also about how natural selection is not the only process at work for evolutionary advancement. I totally ... More About: Science , Evolution , Book Review , Review , Book
10 foods that help reduce stress:
2007-10-08 19:19:00 Reducing stress might be as easy as eating the right foods: 1. Blueberries?Besides having been identified as one of the healthiest foods around, blueberries are very high in vitamin C, which has been shown to give the body added reserves to help it deal with high levels of stress. Also, blueberries contain a high amount of ... More About: Mental Health , Stress , Reduce , Foods
Book Review: ?In Search of Nature? by Edward O. Wilson.
2007-10-08 18:53:00 The author has a very easy to read style. It is very succinct and eloquent. If you love nature, you will LOVE this book! The chapter “In the company of ants” is probably one of the best chapters [of any book] that I have ever read. I found the hierarchal structure of the leaf-cutter ants ... More About: Science , Nature , Book Review , Review , Search
Book Review: ?Cats? Paws and Catapults; Mechanical Worlds of Nature and Peo
2007-10-06 13:38:00 This book contains numerous examples of design, from an engineering perspective. The theme is on comparing the design of evolution with that of technological invention. Although the book has almost precisely a 50% natural and 50% artificial split, you get the impression that the author is slightly biased in favour of technology. Steven Vogel acknowledges they ... More About: Science , Nature , Cats , Book Review , Review
The Circus of Jumping Through Hoops - A Spanish Beauracracy.
2007-10-05 18:06:00 In Spain, learning how to drive is like attending University lectures. In fact the theory lessons are so incredibly pedantic, it could be complete curriculum for a university subject entitled “Advanced Driving Theory”. However, Spanish traffic control is not really concerned at all about safety, just semantics. They attempt to trick you with each and every question. ... More About: Business , Hoops , Mental Health , That
Two year old attempts the notoriously difficult Spanish driving theory test
2007-10-05 15:00:00 THEORY LESSONS: Almost everybody takes for granted the ability to drive a car. OK, maybe not in the first few weeks… you’re an adolescent, you study the Learner manual for a few hours, sit in front of a computer at your local Roads & Traffic Authourity Office, and bingo, you’ve got yourself a new license. You’re now permitted ... More About: Driving , Spanish , Theory , Test , Island Life
Photos of all the Cycling Teams & Clubs in the Canary Islands:
2007-10-03 16:08:00 I stole this from www.ciclismotenerife.net, but it gives you some exposure to the local cycling scene C.D. ACHINECH C.C. TALAVERA C.C. ONCEDIENTES C.C. NIKO-MOTOBIKE C.C. BALLESTER C.C. A-NARANJO C.C. SPORTING NAVA CC.A-ALVAREZ C.C. CICLO 2000 C.C. CHAVEÑA Escuelas de Ciclismo de las provincias de Tenerife, Gran Canaria y La Palma C.C. Escuela BENTOR C.C. Escuela TAORO C.C. Escuela IRUENE More About: Photos , Clubs , Cycling , Teams , Islands
?River Out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life? by Richard Dawkins. A book re
2007-10-02 16:28:00 Fortunately, it is not the least bit religious, despite the suggestive title. There are some truly wonderful examples that usually involve the reader directly, and I relished reading it. No pictures, but none are needed as the words themselves convey the ideas successfully. I found the sections on gastrulation, ancestry, bees, eyes, particularly fascinating. The ... More About: Science , Life , Book , River , View
Absolutely vital customs you need to know before for watching television in
2007-09-29 16:38:00 The default position for all spanish televisions is ON. Whether or not anybody actually watches the program broadcasted at the time is completely irrelevant. The only time the television is switched off is when EVERYONE in the house is asleep. No exceptions! The last person to switch off the television has two very special responsibilities: firstly- make sure everyone ... More About: Television , Vital , Watching , Island Life , Customs
Am I really a racist? More like culturist?
2007-09-29 13:32:00 I’ve visited 42 countries in the last 10 years, and I’ve noted their cultures and customs are all very different indeed. An act that is seen as polite in one culture (slurping soup in Japan), will almost certainly offend people here in Spain. Even the many individual island cultures of the pacific are all quite unique from ... More About: Mental Health , Racist , Island Life , Ally
10 reasons to hire a bicycle instead of bringing your own bike next cycling
2007-09-28 17:20:00 I’m sure you can think of a few reasons not to hire a rental bike, but here are 10 legimate reasons you should: Reduce your carbon footprint!! Assuming you take an extra 15kg of bicycle equipment (bike + case) as checked-on luggage, you’ll save between 100~200kg of CO2 emissions for a typical return journey (LGW - ... More About: Business , Hire , Cycling , Bike , Reasons
?Diatoms to Dinosaurs: The Size And Scale Of Living Things? by Christopher
2007-09-26 16:28:00 The book is about muscles and skeletons, hearts, fluids and brains. Quite a large chunk of the book is about flight. I found the most captivating chapter was “Tiffany wings and kite strings”. It is all about tiny fliers: microfilm model airplanes and microscopic flying insects. It reveals that the mechanism that insects use to ... More About: Science , Living , Things , Size , Scale
?Chaos: making a new science?, by James Gleick. A book review.
2007-09-26 16:23:00 This book only touches on what Chaos actually is. I found myself wanting more - NOT because it was a good book, but because I knew it was poorly written book on a good subject. If you really like the image on the cover, then please do yourself a favour and go and search the internet ... More About: Science , Book Review , Review , Book , James
Grape Harvest Time in Tenerife; small grape farmers suffer a disaster crop!
2007-09-22 18:29:00 I just finished helping with today’s “cosecha” way too early… For those that don’t know, a cosecha is the local name for a grape harvest. The owner of small vineyards in Tenerife usually ask their extended family members to volunteer to harvest (cosechar) all the grapes in a single day. This day normally falls Saturday at the end ... More About: News , Business , Time , Disaster , Small
Stress linked to violent crime rates
2007-09-21 16:08:00 The human mind, when submitted to unusual levels of stress, reacts in many different ways. The more unusual cases, such as mental divergence, occur when the mind creates an alternate reality in which the patient can exist, free from the stresses of real-life. Such examples are schizophrenia, split-personality syndrome, schizophrenic psychosis, and dementia praecox. Others ... More About: Science , Crime , Mental Health , Stress , Rates
Could it be a big world after all? Debunking the ?six degrees of separation
2007-09-21 15:56:00 The idea that people are connected through just “six degrees of separation,” based on Stanley Milgram’s “small world study,” has become part of the intellectual furniture of educated people. New evidence discovered in the Milgram papers in the Yale archives, together with a review of the literature on the “small world problem,” reveals that this ... More About: Science , World , Separation , Rees , Degrees
Fighting to Survive, beyond the 21st century.
2007-09-21 15:26:00 Empires fall because of long-lasting wars, rebellions, disease plagues, chemical poisoning, etcetera. Civilisations rise and fall like ocean tides. What makes our civilisation any different? I believe, nothing. I often wonder: what will be our undoing? Look around at our cities. Look at the concrete. Look at the stress & misdirected violence. The current mental health crisis. We’ve based our entire economy ... More About: Science , News , Business , Mental Health , Fighting
High-Performance Cycling - a book review.
2007-09-21 13:09:00 It is written/edited by someone with a PhD, in a reporting style which may annoy some people. It is well-referenced, though I think most people will not care less for seeking out the various journal articles. For example, it often starts a paragraph in this manner: “one study shows that…” A quote: “Our baseline modeling condition ... More About: Performance , Cycling , Book Review , Review , Book
The Bicycle Wheel - a review.
2007-09-21 13:00:00 I don’t know what the others say, but I think the author is an anti-technological stick-in-the-mud. If you are looking for tips & info on how to build your dream lightweight wheelset, then look elsewhere because you won’t find it in this book. I read the whole book in one sitting. The diagrams are much bigger ... More About: Review , Wheel , Heel , Bicycle
Bicycling Science - a short review.
2007-09-21 12:58:00 I think this is a great book IF you’re a scientist (like me!). Like the other reviews say, it is a little dated - but results are results. There is a wealth of info in this book, most of it is technical, and there is some fascinating things on human powered flight & HPVs. I ... More About: Science , Review , Short , Bicycling
The Ultimate Bicycle Book - a review.
2007-09-21 12:55:00 If there is only one book about cycling you should own - then this is it! Everyone who owns a bike should get this, especially if you’re just starting out. It is really what got me started off, now I own my ultimate dream machine and I still refer to it now and then. You see ... More About: Review , Book , Ultimate , Bicycle
Researchers again pinpoint why stress kills:
2007-09-19 16:05:00 (February 9, 2004)?BETHESDA, MD? As Valentine’s Day approaches, one prevailing argument for marriage may well be that studies show married people are less depressed than their single counterparts. Behind this string of scientific reasoning for matrimony is a proven fact: the prevalence of depression in patients with coronary artery disease (e.g., myocardial infarction and heart ... More About: Science , Mental Health , Stress
?Diets sweetened with honey may be beneficial in decreasing anxiety and imp
2007-09-19 15:23:00 PERHAPS Winnie the Pooh knows something we don’t. Honey could soon be marketed as a way to combat the effects of ageing. Lynne Chepulis and Nicola Starkey of the University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand, raised rats on diets containing 10 per cent honey, 8 per cent sucrose, or no sugar at all for 12 ... More About: Science , Diets , Mental Health , Anxiety
WHO appealing to countries to increase their support for mental health serv
More articles from this author:2007-09-19 15:17:00 The World Health Organisation (WHO) is appealing to countries to increase their support for mental health services. The appeal is part of a series of six reviews on global mental health which has been published this week in the journal The Lancet. All the review papers and commentaries included in The Lancet Global Mental Health Series ... More About: Mental Health , Support , Countries 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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